OPUS Mag

Jun 26 Review: Power Season 4 - When I Get Out

With that line, Ghost (Omari Hardwick) lost all of his supernatural powers over Angela Valdez (Lela Loren)…or did he? Why is Angie still calling Ghost, now defendant James St. Patrick, “Jamie”? And by the way, why is James St. Patrick’s last name, St. Patrick? That’s a topic for another day. Power season 4 premiered during the last weekend of June 2017, and it was everything I could have asked for as a fan that hasn’t missed an episode since the show debuted.

Before I review this episode I’d like to touch on a few things about this show. The characters on the show are thee most naïve criminals I’ve ever encountered (in fiction). Everyone has an agenda to gain “power” for whatever said agenda, and nobody seems to be honest with each other on the show, which is funny because everyone working together is the only time all the characters exude true power. And that takes me to something nobody seems to talk about and/or understand about a central location of the show, Truth. James St. Patrick’s prized nightclub is called Truth because that’s where a lot of the truths of the show unfold. Season 1, episode 1, we see James St. Patrick with his gorgeous wife Tasha (Naturi Naughton) on opening night of his club, and a few moments later we see Ghost flanked by Tommy (Joseph Sikora) killing a dude who stole from them; a truth unearthed, and we see both sides of James St. Patrick/Ghost. Another truth, Angie finds herself in Jamie’s club, after not seeing him for about 20 years, and he rushes to go see/speak to her while his wife is trying to get his attention. Why didn’t Jamie just look Angie up on Facebook? If I were strung out on a girl from HS, I would send a friend request or DM & be done with my obsession (Ghost is a weirdo). Some more truths at Truth: Angie & Jamie admitting their feelings for each other & finally fucking in his office, Holly (Lucy Walters) getting caught stealing Tasha’s earrings, Shawn (Sinqua Walls) pulling a gun on Ghost & confirming his suspicions about Kanan (Curtis Jackson) being behind all the bullshit in season 1, Angela finally calling Jamie, “Ghost,” Dean revealing himself as Milan (Callan Mulvey), etc. Truth is the only location in the show where most of the characters show their true selves; let’s all keep that in mind going forward.

To borrow a line from one of my man’s, I like the way this season feels! When I Get Out begins where season 3 ended, with Ghost being booked for the murder of Greg Knox (Andy Bean). Then we have this idiot Mike Sandoval (David Fumero) NOT throwing the murder weapon into the bay of water after hearing Ghost was arrested for the murder we all know he committed, which leads me to believe that he’s an idiot & he’s going to try to somehow get Ghost’s DNA on the gun. We then see Tommy going to a basement/safe house, where he’s stashed a scared LaKeisha (La La Anthony); LaKeisha was scared of Milan (who I presume got his name on the show because the Milan building in NYC is the location of Ghost’s & Tasha’s apartment). Let me get the obvious out of the way, Tommy is going to end up fucking LaKeisha, and everyone on social media (when did it stop being social networking) will make Carmelo Anthony jokes for a year. Tommy then gets a call from Tasha that Tariq (Michael Rainey Jr.) is missing, which brings Tommy to Truth where the only person who hasn’t lived in his truth at Truth, Dre (Rotimi Akinosho) is dealing with the fallout of Ghost getting arrested, and has to cover his ass with both Slim/Kanan & tommy/Ghost because he’s playing both sides. Dre breaks the news to Tommy of Ghost’s arrest, and for whatever reason, Tommy doesn’t get as unhinged as he usually does. Why? I think Tommy doesn’t give a fuck about anything Ghost related anymore, and he’s “over it” as the kids say.

Listen, fuck Angela, and her overly emotional ass; at the end of the day, she’s a fucking cop. Why do rappers always say, “at the end of the day” in their interviews? Anyhow, fuck the police, fuck Angela Valdez & I hope she steps on the broken wine glass. I love how we’re taken deeper into Turtle’s; wait…Joe Proctor’s (Jerry Ferrara) life, and see his wife/ex-wife struggling with addiction & see his daughter crying/hiding upstairs, it’s a great callback to what was alluded to when how we were first introduced to Proctor in season 2. Dre & Tariq are 2 idiots in the same moronic pod; why would anyone believe their bullshit story? Again, goes to show how naïve all these lifelong criminals are. How was Ghost’s DNA under Greg Knox’s fingers? Was it from when he pulled him over? Or was it from inside of Angie’s “privates”? I had mixed emotions about seeing Charlie Murphy playing a correctional officer because he’s MC Gusto, Brother For Real, and roles that are more relatable, not a damn cop! But seriously, I felt weird knowing this is probably his last performance, and he looked unhealthy, I really implore all my brothers & sisters to take your health seriously, and I hope the Murphy family & friends have found peace with Charlie’s passing.

When the feds pulled up to Ghost & Tasha’s penthouse apartment, I just KNEW that Angie couldn’t keep her ass out of the mix, there was literally no reason for her to be there but there’s that emotional attachment. By the way, last season when Greg Knox got murdered, why was she shocked when she went up to his apartment? There wasn’t any ambulance or abnormal amount of cop cars downstairs? Maybe the cops didn’t want to alarm his neighbors & spook them cuz of his dead body, but I’ve been wondering about that. But back to Angie being at the penthouse, I feel as if she still doesn’t think Jamie could do that, and NEEDS proof because she still loves him. Go back to last season, Tasha told Angie in the lobby of that very building, “you’ll always be doing for Ghost,” and this feels like the genesis of that coming to fruition. Tommy goes to his organization, and let’s everyone know the new pecking order, and while they’re all concerned with Ghost being locked up, Tommy is unusually cool or maybe he can’t bring himself to deal with the reality that Ghost isn’t around to come save him like he’s done his entire life. We see tension brewing between Dre & my candidate for 1st to die this season, Julio (J.R. Ramirez). Why will Julio be first to go? Dre wants to be the distributor, and he’s willing to do anything for it, combine that with the fact that Dre is now kicking up $50,000 a week to Kanan, he needs more money to make it a more comfortable payment. I see Kanan killing Julio off, and helping Dre position himself closer to the top, which would allow Kanan to make more money until it’s time to knock Dre, Tommy & everyone off. Why is our first reaction to kill people off with this show? It’s pretty sick, but I guess predicting terrible shit is the “charm” of this show.

Saxe (Shane Johnson) had an AMAZING one-liner, “you were fucking both the defendant AND the victim,” please feel free to laugh as hard as I did at that line. I don’t like the new prosecutor they introduced, John Mak (Sung Kang) and I hope they find dirt on him like Killa Cam had on Bill O’Reilly. Ghost having his bail denied was to be expected, you can’t kill a cop & go chill in a penthouse because as Black men in America we are guilty until proven innocent. As the court/correctional officer (Charlie Murphy) was walking Ghost towards the back, Angela walks past him, calling him “Jamie” in the process which again leads me to believe that she’s not 100% convinced he did it, and will end up helping his case sooner than later, at which point Ghost will have to make a final decision whether to be with his HS sweetheart who arrested him or his wife. Seems like a simple choice but like I’ve said for years, Ghost isn’t a good person, no matter how many bespoke suits, and cellphones he runs thru. Have you ever seen a drug-dealer use up that much of his date plan before?

Two things happened that are callbacks to earlier seasons. First, we see Tasha taking her heels off, and seeing the mess that her penthouse is in, it’s a callback to when she told Ghost, “you’re always leaving me with your mess.” Little does Tasha know the mess is way nastier than it appears because she has no clue Kanan is alive trifling with her son; excuse me, but where is the baby? Tasha stepping out of her shoes, and us seeing her feet hit the ground is symbolic to me because it’s as if she’s coming down out of her fantasy world, and off this proverbial pedestal she imagined her life to always be. We’re about to see the real Tasha, the woman, not just the wife or mother, which aren’t “just” titles but she’s going to show herself apart from that. Ghost seemed virtually untouchable for 3 seasons, and at the end of this episode, we literally see the correctional officers putting hands, feet, and nightsticks on him. The life that James St. Patrick has tried to make disappear is going to haunt him, and become his…ghost.

There are so many characters that are out of sight (for the moment), and others who have yet to be introduced to us. I like the way this season feels; everything feels sharp, and it feels like we are in for an emotional rollercoaster that will end with the death of one of our 2 anti-heroes, Ghost or Tommy. Yes, I think Ghost or Tommy will die this season, and it will be because of the other. Until then, Power to the people, when you see me…see you.

Coeur Noir is an autofiction novel written by Al Patron. The title is Haitian Creole for black heart or heart of black, in reference to the traits of the main protagonist, Nikolas Daniel...who may or may not be based on Al Patron himself. A coming of age novel Coeur Noir will evoke emotional reactions ranging from but not limited to crying & laughter, all while detailing a path to greatness for Al Pa...pardon...Nikolas Daniel.